CE114 Unit Four Seminar: Psychosocial and Cognitive Development of the Infant

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Unit Four Course Outcomes CE114-1: Discuss age appropriate behavioral expectations and intervention strategies for the early childhood care professional educator. CE114-2: Identify milestones in infants, toddlers, and early childhood development

Thought for the Day… “We can whenever we choose successfully teach all children… We already know more than we need to know in order to do that!” Ron Edmonds

Topic One Do you believe that the attachments made in infancy have an effect on us throughout life? Please share an example from your own experience to illustrate your point of view.

John Bowlby In this first year, the baby has formed an attachment to mom. In fact, Bowlby researched this attachment in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Bowlby has conducted his research on infants raised in an institutional setting. The attendants of the institution saw that the babies received food, clothing, and baths. However, these babies did not receive hugs or affectionate touches. What do you think happened to those infants? What sorts of problems might they demonstrate?

Important Names to Remember John Bowlby: researched the separation and attachments infants develop. Mary Ainsworth: her work was instrumental in defining different types of attachment behaviors. 7

Bowlby In this first year, the baby has formed an attachment to mom. In fact, Bowlby researched this attachment in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Bowlby has conducted his research on infants raised in an institutional setting. The attendants of the institution saw that the babies received food, clothing, and baths. However, these babies did not receive hugs or affectionate touches. What do you think happened to those infants? What sorts of problems might they demonstrate?

Bowlby Four phases of Attachments In Phase I: This phase lasts for about 12 weeks in the newborns life. The baby is quick to respond to those who meet his or her daily needs. The infant will not be more discriminating about his or her caregiver until around 3 to 6 months in Phase II. In Phase III, the infant is moving towards the toddler stage. This phase occurs when the child is 6 months to 3 years of age. The child wants to be near others, especially those persons that the child has formed an attachment.

Mary Ainsworth Mary Ainsworth has conducted her research with the mother, the infant, and the stranger. She wanted to see how the baby acted with the mother to various situations. Other research has found that the baby that falls into the secure attachment category has the ability to form attachments between one to four months of age. The mother of the securely attached infant is sensitive to the baby’s cues or communication efforts. Can you name one of these cues? How can we tell if the baby is trying to communicate?

Topic Two Describe ways infants communicate throughout the first year. How can we encourage communication with our infant?

Topic Three What are some ways to help infants develop their language skills?

Topic Four Share some specific ideas for age-appropriate toys, books, and experiences.

Web Resources Early Intervention: Illinois Department of Human Services Read the article "Developmental Milestones": You may also find the following website sponsored by PBS valuable in completing your developmental stages chart

Unit Four Project Directions Developmental Stages Chart - Using the charts on milestones of development found in our text along with other unit material create a chart of your own. This chart needs to combine some landmarks in each of the following stages from birth to three years of age: physical and motor development; psychosocial development; and cognitive development. When creating your chart, choose a reasonable sampling from each area; these could be milestones of development that strike you as most meaningful. Download the Developmental Stages Chart and save the graph in a Word document. Then add the appropriate information into the correct areas (at least 3 milestones for each area)

Unit Four Project Directions Cont. Expected developmental milestones are based on the idea that children tend to follow similar developmental patterns. When doing this activity, keep in mind that current thinking about expected patterns of growth and development tells us that multiple biological and environmental influences affect both the sequence and timing of motor skills. In addition, include a one-paragraph analysis addressing the fact that individuals develop at varying rates.

The ABC's Of Child Development Developmental Milestones For Your Child's First Five Years Some of the statements on that website I think address this issue well. “Children grow and develop at different rates. While their pathways through childhood differ, most pass a set of predictable milestones along the way.” “In reality, these areas overlap, as development in one area is reinforced and enhanced by growth in others. The milestones suggested for each area offer examples of the developmental leaps that young children make. These are not complete lists.” “.As you follow this map, keep in mind that each child develops differently and that an individual child may develop more quickly in one area than in another.”

Varying Rates of Development What are your thoughts on how individuals develop at varying rates? Can you provide an example from your own experience?

Things to do… Complete the readings Participate in discussion Participate in seminar Complete the Project

Think about…. The teacher is one who made two ideas grow where only one grew before.